The Foundation’s international department spent three days delivering community initiatives in Mumbai, where the young children were joined by Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, revisiting some of the activities Chelsea Foundation engaged with in conjunction with Tore Andre Flo back in 2018.

Day One

Chelsea Foundation’s delivery began with a 90-minute coach education workshop for 24 young leader/coaches from a local charity, with a focus around session planning. All the attendees were invited to watch and support a coaching clinic delivered by our UEFA-licensed coaches.

Day Two

The Chelsea Foundation team arrived at St Andrew’s School Turf Park facility for coaching clinics delivered on artificial mini-pitches. The groups consisted of 16 boys and 16 girls from the inner-city community with a bespoke session focused on sharing a range of drills along with a surprise visit from Hasselbaink.

Next up was a supporters’ club tournament consisting of 12 teams from across India. CISC Mumbai Supporters’ Club clinched the title on penalties and were then treated to a special awards presentation with Chelsea’s former number nine.

Day two culminated with a special live screening event of Chelsea’s fixture versus Everton with local fans.

Day Three

Chelsea Foundation reconnected with Reality Gives, a local non-profit charity programme which helps educate and mentor young people from Dharavi at a central community centre.

The first part of the day was a Reality Give tour inside the community to see how the Dharavi slums operate. Krishna Pujari, co-founder of Reality Gives, explained how the tours were a way to give visibility to the positive side of the community which from the outside is misunderstood.

The Chelsea Foundation team then delivered another education session for 21 young adults in the community centre, again being joined by Hasselbaink who gave the students an inspirational insight into his journey and career, including the challenges he faced as a young player and how he overcame them. Hasselbaink closed the session by encouraging the students to follow their dreams, work hard and take the opportunity given by Reality Gives.  

The final stop of The Famous CFC Tour was Kamraj Memorial English High School to present to another group of 22 students aged between 14 and 17. The team delivered a range of fun challenges for the group with a number of spectators and young players watching the session and engaging with the activities while meeting Jimmy Floyd.

Ian Woodroffe, head of international development at Chelsea Foundation, said: ‘The first Famous CFC Tour has been a huge success, raising the profile to the club and delivering really impactful experiences that will last a lifetime. Having Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was invaluable to this experience and enabled us to engage the current and future fanbase of the club. We look forward to amplifying this work at the next stop of The Famous CFC tour.’